Ways to Search for Colleges:

1. Big Future  - College Board

2. Naviance College Match - Under My Favorites → Colleges I’m Thinking about → Scroll down to Quick Links and click either “SuperMatch” or “Advanced College Search”

3. Search google for college name and go to their website.

4. Scroll through the list of common Smart colleges that DCPS students typically apply for.

Login to Naviance which is your College and Career Portal for school.

1. Go to http://student.naviance.com/hdws 

2. Click "Student"

3. Click "Continue with Clever"

4. Search for School" HD Woodson"

5. Click Student and Staff Login: Login with your StudentID@students.k12.dc.us and your password that you use for Canva.

This is the 2nd way to login to Naviance. 

1. Login to Clever using your student email studentid@students.k12.dc.us 

2. Type in Naviance in the search box at the top right corner. 

3. Click Naviance, and it will take you to your Naviance Home Page.

How to Use Naviance College Super Match?

How to use  Naviance Advanced College Search?

How to Use Big Future College Board College and Career Search

How to Research Colleges on THEIR website?

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT EACH COLLEGE

Research the following information and write it down or type it somewhere electronically so that you can always go back and find it. 

• School Name

• Location

• Is it a public school or private school?

• Annual Cost of Attendance (for Out of state students or In-state if you live in that school)

• Do they offer my major?

• 2 clubs/student activities they offer that you might be interested in.

• What are their application requirements?

  • What GPA do they require?

  • What SAT/ACT score do they require?

  • Do they require essays?

  • Do they require letters of recommendation?

  • How much is the application fee?

  • When is the application deadline? (Never do Early Decision. However you can do Early Action, Regular Decision, or Rolling Admissions).

How to organize your College List?

1. Add your colleges to Naviance.

2. Create a College Spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel or the Numbers App (if you have an Iphone).

3. Follow the instructions in the video below.

4. Research Student Vlogs on YouTube about their experience at that college.

STEPS TO APPLYING TO COLLEGE

How to Apply to Colleges

There are Multiple ways to apply to college:

1. Directly through the colleges Website.

2. Through the Common Black College Application website. (Apply to over 67 HBCUs)  - use fee waiver code: osse2023

3. Through the CommonApp.org (Apply to over 900 colleges)

Fee Waivers for College

• College Board Application Fee Waiver

Applying to Colleges using the Black College Common Application

Applying to Colleges using the CommonApp

1. Go to CommonApp.org to complete your Application.

2. Complete the FERPA Release form. Here is the video walkthrough on how to complete the FERPA form on the Common App portal.

3. Sync your common app to Naviance.

Applying to Colleges directly through their site

1. Google that colleges name to find their website

2. Go to that colleges website. (Their website should end in .edu) (For example: www.gwu.edu, www2.gmu.edu, home.howard.edu) 

3. Search for "Admissions" or "Apply Now"

   1. The Admissions page should tell you more about the requirements to apply to their school. -- Make sure you only focus on "Undergraduate Admissions". 

   2. The Apply button/link should take you the Application or How to Apply Page.

4. Follow the Instructions.

5. Once you have applied to your college, tell your College and Career Coordinator so that they can send your school transcript (by email, text, or by adding the college to your Naviance account). 

WRITING COLLEGE ESSAYS

1st - Sign up with Story2 because they will work with you to write your college essays. 

• Link to sign up: Storybuilder.story2.com/register

  • Story2 provides:

    • Free college essay and career writing supports to all DCPS Seniors

    • Student must register and sign up to start receiving the services.

    • Unlock college essay fundamentals with interactive courses

    • Shape your story into a completed essay with our step-by-step writing platform.

2nd. Do these 3 Brainstorming Exercises to do before writing your College Essay.

1. The Values Exercise

2. The Essence Objects Exercise

3. Feelings and Needs Exercise

3rd, CLICK each of the red buttons below for links on how to write great college and scholarship application essays.

4th, figure out which Essays you are going to begin writing and it what order. Each college and scholarship may have their own Essay prompt. Here are the common app essay prompts below. 

Common App Essay Prompts

Link: https://www.commonapp.org/blog/2021-2022-common-app-essay-prompts

Remember that the www.CommonApp.org can be used to apply to over 900 colleges. So these essay prompts can apply for each of the schools that accept the common app.

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

ADD Your Colleges to Naviance

Once you have completed a college application, it's important that you update your Naviance "Colleges I have Applied to" list. When you add the college, you will also click the button to "Request Transcripts". This lets your College and Career Coordinator know that you have applied this college and that you want us to send your transcripts to that school. Here is a video that breaks down how you add colleges you applied to, to your Naviance account. 

If it is the beginning of the school year, select that you want to send your INITIAL TRANSCRIPT. 

After your Semester 1 grades get posted, then you can request to send your MID-YEAR TRANSCRIPT.

At the end of the school year, when all your grades are in, then you can request to send your FINAL TRANSCRIPT.

Send SAT scores to Colleges

Unfortunately, we cannot send your SAT scores to your colleges. You will have to do that yourself by logging into your www.CollegeBoard.org account. Here is a video that walks you through that process.

How to PAY for College Applications?

Students who attend HD qualify for application fee waivers for the majority of college applications. This is done through 3 ways. 

1st. Black Common App fee waiver code

For students applying to the https://commonblackcollegeapp.com/ you will have the opportunity to use a fee waiver code at the end of your application. After you choose at least 4 colleges and submit your application, you will be taken to the fee page. If you have the $20, you can pay via credit card. If you don't, you should use the following code: osse2022

Make sure you put that code under the Promotional Code box and not the affiliate code box. 

2nd. Common Application Fee Waiver

For students applying to the https://www.commonapp.org/ you will need to: 

A. Sign your FERPA release in your Common App account and 

B. Link your Common App to Naviance. 

This video below will take you through these steps.

3rd. NACAC Fee Waiver

If you are applying to a college that is not through the Common App or the Black Common App, you will need to ask your College and Career Coordinator to send the NACAC Fee waiver when they send your transcript. Head to your College and Career Coordinator's office to fill out the top of the NACAC fee waiver form, so that it can be sent out with your transcript. Remember that in order to request a transcript, you will have had to add that college to your Naviance Account via the instructions in the video above. 

PS. One more thing. There are a small number of colleges that don't accept any of these 3 fee waivers. If that is the case, you have 2 options.

 Option #1: Pay the application fee out of pocket. 

Option #2: Email the colleges admissions office to see if you can request an application fee waiver directly from them.